WOW - so much to think about. My head is spinning. Karenseb - When I first looked at your drawing I thought. 'How does a 4' shower and 6' tub fit on a wall that's only 8'?- then I read that you took space from the closet. I hate destroying the closet - it's the only thing that's actually finished upstairs but ... in the long run it could be worth it. I'm meeting with the builder tomorrow and I"ll ask him if it can be done and how it changes the price. It would be great to get more closet space too. I'll let you know after I see him. Thanks for helping me see something else. Olychick brings up another good point though - someone can take a shower, use the toilet, soak in a tub - while someone else puts on make-up or shaves. It's tough because there's no window and the only natural light comes from the bedroom. I put my makeup on and always wonder if it's too much or too little even with lots of light. By having the sinks area visible to the bedroom you get some natural day light but it's tough if you're on different schedules & waking up or going to sleep at different times plus - no privacy. I'm attaching one photo which shows the open entrance from the bedroom (same carpeted floor) and if you look, near the back of the photo, there's the door into the shower tub space. Maybe that will help to give a better perspective. I even went out and bought a tension rod and 2 white curtains to hang up so I'd get the feel of a door at the opening. I pull it open during the day and close it at night.

Thanks brickeyee. I know you're a floor guy and assume then that the tile need not be taken back many many feet, as the floor store said, but just remove the ones that are partials? I did get the color of the grout from the builder. It amazes me how unwilling this tile dealer/installer was to even sell me the tile. The sales guy used the phrase "if we're willing to take your job" a couple times ago, was quite uncooperative, said he had to look into it and would get back to me. That was nearly a week ago now. Sigh.

Ok. Let me try this again. I have color-coded the drawing to help explain what I am asking. What I am trying to accomplish is to have the benefit of extra space without totally removing the load-bearing wall. With the island I would like to put in, I won't have a wide enough walkway if I line the load-bearing wall with cabinets. However, I was thinking that I might be able to keep the support from the load-bearing wall, place a pantry, closets or cabinets around the supports for that wall, and create a non-load bearing wall behind it. Sort of bumping the wall back without losing the structural integrity it provides and without the cost of removing it, especially because I would need to put up another wall between the dining room and kitchen, even if it is not as long. Otherwise, there is nowhere to put the fridge. This means I would lose some space in the dining room, but we don't use it more than 1-2/times per year. I am attaching some photos of my very ugly current kitchen to give you a better idea of the current layout. At this point, I am wondering if this idea has any merit before I move into other floor plans for the space. I really, really want the big island but am not sure if it is feasible. 1. View from dining room into kitchen: view from front hallway near stairway 3.kitchen from family room 4. view of load-bearing wall from kitchen toward the dining room 5. another view of load-bearing wall 6. from garage entrance into kitchen 8.from bay window area toward load-bearing wall If there are other views you would like to see, please let me know.

I just painted my walls in White Dove by BM. I have a subway tile backsplash in the kitchen with black grout. I'd like to paint my cabinets white and the island Navel (dark blue), but what color white should I paint my cabinets? The subway tile is a bright white and the WD if a very soft white/gray. Worried they will all clash or have too many shades of white going on. Help! :)